Washington, DC — More than 1500 people from nearly 85 countries attended the Global Health Council's 33rd Annual Conference last week to discuss the status of global youth health. This was an increase from previous years' participation despite the loss of $365,000 in federal funding one month before the conference was scheduled to begin, a Global Health spokesperson said.
U.S. health officials from the Department of Health and Human Services, the Center for Disease Control and U.S. Agency for International Development did not attend the conference for the first time in more than thirty years.
"What could separate our fellow health professionals from the work and ideals of this conference?" asked Nils Daulaire, Global Health Council president, in his opening address. "Certainly not doubts about whether young people are important. And certainly not the science of health and what really works to fight disease and improve their lives. No, it is the politics of health - or more correctly, the exploitation of sensitive global health issues for domestic political purposes - that has kept them away."
The controversy arose when some anti-abortion organizations pushed the Bush administration to withdraw funding from the conference, as some participants include information about abortion in their family planning materials. A Health and Human Services spokesperson said the funding was removed because the Council had planned an "Advocacy Day"vist to Capitol Hill in violation of federal lobbying laws, the Washington Post reported.
Some conference attendees agreed with Daulaire's assessment of the pulled funding.
"All points of view were reflected in the meeting," said Nancy Williamson, director of YouthNet at Family Health International. "It should not have been politicized."
Still others cited Daulaire's defiant opening address as the highlight of their conference.
"I think his condemnation of this kind of censorship was brilliant and well-received by this audience," James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth, said. "The last thing we need in this world is someone putting politics above public health."
Regardless of the controversy, the focus remained on the young people who were the focus of the conference. This year's theme was "Youth and Health: Generation on the Edge."
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"Usually, it's a kind of middle-aged crowd," Williamson said, adding that the presence of so many youth presenters and organizers had brought new energy to the conference.
"It's our role as the Council to bring people together to work together and share knowledge," Council spokesperson Lynnette Johnson Williams said. "To see that happen at the youth level was inspiring."
Johnson Williams said the Council is still working to replace the federal funding it lost.
"We did not recoup all the funds," she said. "In the time frame that was left, it wasn't possible."
